Los Angeles — UCLA Anderson's 2001 Reunion Class Gift Campaign collected an all-time-high of $627,533, exceeding last year's reunion gift by $59,884. Each year the five classes celebrating their milestone reunions of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years give back to the school through the Reunion Class Gift Campaign.

In the spirit of philanthropy and class competition, the reunion classes challenge themselves to surpass the gifts of previous years. The results of their efforts to date were presented to Dean Bruce G. Willison at Alumni Weekend, November 2-4, 2001.

"We are deeply grateful for the generosity of this year's reunion classes," said Willison. "Our lifelong relationships with our UCLA Anderson alumni are a critical element in the continuing success of the school."

As a major component of the UCLA Anderson Annual Fund, the reunion class donations help the school remain at the forefront of graduate management education, supporting academic excellence through curriculum development, the Rosenfeld Library, alumni and career services and other important programs.

This year's total reflected several record results, including the largest class total and a new 10-year reunion class high of $250,000 amassed by the class of 1991 under the leadership of co-chairs Anne Vollen ('91) and Susan Urquidi ('91). They transcended the totals of the previous record holders, the class of 1989, from two years ago.

Vollen credits the old-fashioned hard work of her committee and their low-pressure personalized approach. Her 1991 classmates achieved the largest percentage of participation for the current reunion classes. She noted her surprise at the number of $5,000 to $10,000 "meat and potatoes" gifts, as opposed to the few "angels" contributing large donations they anticipated. However, the amount of the gift did not affect the uniformly high level of their appreciation, especially since they received financial commitments from classmates who had been laid off during the economic downturn.

"This was my first experience with fundraising, and the 'silver lining' for me was the opportunity to reconnect with classmates that I haven't kept in touch with socially," said Vollen. "Our class was unusually close and the committee as a whole was enthusiastic about renewing the priceless friendships we formed at UCLA Anderson a dozen years ago."

The class of 1986 also set a 15-year record for reunion class gifts. The committee, under co-chairs Laura Moody-Karasik ('86), Jordan Kaplan ('86) and Eleanor Brewer ('86 EMBA), raised a remarkable $133,175, which is more than all 15-year classes over the last three years.

Larry Fink ('76), keynote speaker for this year's Alumni Weekend, personally contributed the largest individual gift of $100,000. His donation was a big part of the $123,850 total taken in by 1976 class Chair Patrick Breene ('76), which established a new all-time-high for a 25-year reunion class.